The Frost Siblings
by In-A-Hat
Summary: An AU in which both Jack and his sister drown and are brought back. The art that inspired the fanfic can be found on the following link. seekingskywhales . tumblr. com/ tagged/ frost-siblings
1. Lonely Together

Long ago, there was a frozen lake near a small village called Burgess and one day the surface of that lake cracked, and out rose two children. One boy and one girl. They shared each other's appearance; they had pale skin, striking blue eyes, and glistening white hair.

The boy's hand was held tightly by the little girl. The boy looked at her, not sure who she was. The girl gave the same expression.

Slowly their feet touched the cold surface of the lake and turned to the moon in question. They had heard a voice; it was soft but had a power behind it.

_"Your name is Jack Frost,"_ the moon had told the boy, _"and your name is Mary Frost,"_ he said to the girl.

They stared at each other, not sure of what that meant. They were… siblings? It seemed like it from what the moon had said.

Jack walked across the pond with Mary still grasping his hand until he hit something with his foot. He looked back at Mary, who was looking at the wooden staff curiously as frost had only spread from where his touch was. Slowly he let go of Mary's hand to pick up the staff.

The feeling of security left Mary from losing the sensation in his touch, she felt as though he could disappear despite being right in front of him. The fear melted away as she reassured herself that that would never happen.

The moment Jack had picked up the staff it glowed a bright blue. It took him by surprised causing him to nearly drop it.

Once the base of the staff came into contact with the ground frost shot out and spread as quickly as it could.

They both shook their heads. No, that didn't happen.

Mary grabbed the staff out of Jack's hands and rushed toward some nearby trees.

"Mary," Jack called out and was taken aback by the sound of his own voice for a moment. It sounded really deep, but it still could belong to a boy. Sounded kind of mature too.

Mary tapped the crook of the staff against the tree. A stream of frost shot up the trunk. "Jack!" Mary exclaimed as she bounced up and down. "Look!"

Jack examined the frost on the bark as he pressed his hand against it. He extended his hand towards Mary and she gave the staff to him. It was his turn now. He tapped the tree and frost covered the bark just like before.

The staff was magic. He jumped in excitement like his sister and they both rushed back to the frozen lake, dancing across the frozen surface as they played with the staff, leaving a lovely trail of frost in their wake.

They smiled at each other as their bare feet almost glided across the ice. Jack lost his footing and started flying up into the night sky.

"Jack!" Mary yelled then quickly tripped over a pair of abandoned ice skates. "Ow."

She pushed herself back up and saw Jack somersaulting in the air and slowly coming to a stop. He smiled as he briefly floated in place then saw the frost cover the rest of the lake.

His smile dropped along with the rest of his body. He fell into the trees then landed on a sturdy branch, once the shock wore off his smile reappeared as a small laugh left his lips.

From that high branch, Jack saw a small town. Maybe, he thought, there would be some answers.

"Jack," Mary called as she rushed to the tree Jack had crashed in. "Jack, get back here."

"Mary," he told her as he looked back down at her, "there's a town, not to far from here, just over that way."

"Really?" His sister asked as she turned on the balls of her feet.

Jack tried to carefully drop down next to Mary, only to land clumsily on his knees. He reached for Mary's hand which she grabbed tightly.

* * *

They rode the wind to the small town. The wind was not calm and once they had reached Burgess the wind had dropped them. Jack fell on his face, his brown cloak went over his head, blocking his vision as he stumbled for his balance. Mary had suffered the same fate but had no cloak to obscure her vision.

As Jack regained his balance, he dusted the excess snow off his cloak and let out a hearty laugh. Mary walked only a step behind him as a group of settlers huddled around a fire.

"Hello," Jack greeted. "Hello. Good evening."

Mary went on to do the same as Jack then saw a few children around her age playing.

The townspeople walked by the Frost children as if they weren't there at all.

"Ma'am?" He asked a woman beside him. She didn't see him.

He asked a young boy, "Excuse me. Can you tell me where I am?" The boy ran through Jack. He backed away in shock as he tried to realize what just happened. He looked back and saw the little boy run along like nothing had happened.

Mary clutched onto him once a young woman passed through her. She was scared, confused, and so was Jack.

Two more people passed through them as Jack cried the word hello twice.

It was then Jack realized that they could not be seen, heard, nor touched. Their fear caused snow to fall.

Shaken from what had happened, he carefully placed his arm around Mary and the two walked away from the village. He looked back once more then the siblings returned to the forest.

They knew their names; Jack Frost and Mary Frost: The Frost Siblings.

But that was all they knew, that was the only thing the moon had told them.

Years, decades, and centuries passed, and they had hoped that they would know what they were meant to do.

* * *

Far away on the top of the earth, a fortress laid hidden in an icy canyon. Nicholas St. North, more commonly known as Santa Claus, lived there. His estate was massive, crowded, busy, noisy- and the most wonderful place on Earth.

Right now, North was in the middle of the process of another creation. A huge ice cube was placed on his desk. He cut through the ice with his chainsaw as he hummed along to Stravinsky's Firebird Suite. The words "Naughty" and "Nice" were written on his right and left arm respectively.

Three elves were on the floor licking and eating cookies that were meant for North. "Still waiting for cookies!" North's deep, Russian-accent boomed throughout the room, reminding the elves that he was hungry for his snack.

The tiny elves scurried to North's desk as he flopped into his rolling chair and then reached out to a desk with an array of tools that were tiny compared to his hands. He picked a small hammer and began to chisel in the final details of his new toy. With his little locomotive now finished, he gently placed it on the frozen track. The train roared to life, releasing a cold vapor as it chugged away.

North took a cookie from the platter the elves were holding. He had a satisfied bite as the toy did a loop-di-loop then launched into the air. Wings came out of the ice and the train had become something closer to a jet.

Only for the door to the Workshop to suddenly burst open by one of the yetis and destroy the beautiful toy. The shattered remains were now at North's feet as he let out a groan from seeing it on the ground.

The yeti covered his face in embarrassment. Oh, that was not supposed to happen. He let out a groan to from his mistake. "Arghbal."

"How many times have I told you to knock?" North asked, clearly aggravated with the yeti.

The abominable snowman replied in a series of jumbled words; it was something of a very important matter.

"What?" That caught him by surprise. "The globe?" He soon took stand and grabbed one of his swords as he rushed out of the room.

North passed through a sea of pointy hats in large quick steps. "Shoo with your pointy heads," he called out. "Why are you always under boot?"

He pushed through two yetis and could now see the globe clearly. It was huge and covered with golden lights. Each continent, save for Antarctica, was blanketed by them.

"What is this?" he asked the yeti that reported the problem. Hundreds of lights began to flicker then went dark. Something was causing this; it was killing belief in the thousands.

"Have you checked the axis?" North asked. "Is rotation balanced?"

The yeti did not know.

Wind howled in the large room. Black sand slithered out of the top and bottom of the globe and crept over the lights, snuffing them out in large chunks, until the whole globe was covered.

The elves ran, the sound of the bells on their hats filled the room.

The darkness swirled off the globe and gathered at the top. It then burst into a puff a dust and disappeared.

The room was quiet; no one made a move or a sound.

A shadow skid across the floor between North and the yetis. It became the shape of tall man, his laugh echoing throughout the room as he went behind the globe then vanished. For good this time.

North stared at where the shadow had disappeared. "Can it be?" he muttered. "Dingle!" he called his elf.

Four elves stepped forward then became confused at wondering which Dingle he was referring to.

"Make preparations," North told them. "We are going to have company." North reached out for a lever; it was only meant for emergencies and this was one. He twisted the dial then pulled down hard.

The globe began to glow in a different sense; not in tiny golden lights but like the aurora borealis. The rainbow lights zoomed up to the glass center of the roof and out into the world.

This was first time in a long time, that North had to summon the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, and the Sandman; the rest of the Guardians of Childhood.


	2. Gathering of the Guardians

One of the Tooth Fairy's many minifairies flitted in a little boy's room with a coin in her hands. She slid under the pillow and exchanged the coin for the tooth that was underneath the boy's sleeping head. With her assignment now complete she made her way back to Queen Toothiana's palace.

The marvelous castle was hidden in a mountainous range that was so high up that clouds were below it. Hundreds of fairies were flying outside the castle walls, either coming back from similar assignments or leaving to collect lost teeth.

Inside the beautiful palace, the minifairy placed the tooth in its owner's tooth box. When in actuality it was closer to a cylinder with a flat surface that had diamond shapes which were bordered with gold, along with the rest of the box.

The minifairy then went up to a huge contraption, pulled down a lever, and a shiny new coin came rolling down to her.

A different mini fairy passed by and went up to Queen Toothiana as she gave orders that sounded like they came from air-traffic control. "Chicago, Sector 6 - 37 molars, 22 bicuspids, 18 central incisors. Moscow, Sector 9 - 22 incisors, 18 premolars: Uh oh, heavy rain advisory! Des Moines, we've got a cuspid at 23 Maple. Head out!"

There was a hive of activity as the minifairy went up to the Tooth Fairy. She was part human and Sister of Flight, her body covered with cool colored feathers, like green, blue and purple. But mainly green.

"Wait!" Tooth said as she took whatever the minifairy was holding with her tiny hands. "It's her first tooth," she cooed. "Have you ever seen a more adorable lateral incisor in your life?"

She gasped in delight at the tiny pearly white. "Look how she flossed!"

One of the minifaires tweeted in concern, causing Tooth to see the colorful ray of lights stretch out across the sky. She gasped for a brief moment then flew as fast as she could to the North Pole, with five of her minifairies following right behind her.

* * *

Up in the clouds, the Sandman sent out streams of dreamsand as he stood on his little dreamsand cloud. Sandy was short and squat, his spiky hair was the color of gold, like his dreamsand, and his body was wrapped in a single piece suit or robe.

Dozens upon dozens of dreams being brought to children as most of the town slept. Every golden thread inspiring the children of the world to keep believing in themselves and the Guardians as well. The Sandman turned around and saw an array of colors from high above. His eyes narrowed with concern, he knew what it was in an instant.

He shut his eyes and transformed his little cloud into a small biplane. With Sandy in the cockpit, he put his goggles over his eyes then did a barrel roll as he flew off into the distance.

* * *

Inside a dimly-lit subterranean tunnel, the Easter Bunny, a six-foot tall pooka, rushed through quickly but carefully enough not to bump his head.

Bunnymund popped out of a newly made rabbit hole at the North Pole and made a heroic stance on the snow bank. Then the chilly weather kicked in for him then he shuddered from the cold. "Ah, it's freezing," he complained with an Australian accent.

As quickly as he could, he ran through the snow to reach North's workshop. It had to be warm in there. "I can't feel my feet! I can't feel my feet!" he cried.

* * *

Inside the Globe Room, the rest of the Guardians waited for Sandy to arrive. "Cookies? Eggnog, anyone?" North offered to Bunny and Tooth.

"Oh, this better be good, North," Bunnymund said as Tooth was busy giving assignments to her fairies.

Sandy appeared a moment later. His dreamsand plane disintegrated as he floated down to join the others.

"Sandy, thank you for coming," North greeted.

Sandy created a series of images over his head to communicate.

"I know, I know, but I obviously wouldn't have called you all here unless it was serious," North told the Sandman.

Tooth shushed her fairies, from hearing the word as all the Guardians gathered to the center of the room.

"The Boogeyman was here - at the Pole." North explained, pointing at the ground to emphasize the point.

"Pitch? Pitch Black?" Tooth asked in shock. "Here?"

"Yes!" North confirmed. "There was black sand covering the globe," he told them as he gestured at the globe, sort of mimicking the movements of how the black sand wrapped around the globe with his hands. He wiggled his fingers, letting them know that the sand disappeared like a puff a smoke.

"What, what...what do you mean black sand?" Bunny asked, as he stopped brushing the snow off his feet and walked up to North.

"And then a shadow," North continued.

The Easter Bunny pulled out a paintbrush and an egg as North spoke. "Hold on, hold on," Bunny interrupted, "I thought you said you saw Pitch."

"Well, ah, not exactly..." North admitted as he rubbed the back of his head.

Bunny was not amused by this. "Not exactly? Can you believe this guy?" He asked Sandy, who in turn gave a sympathetic shrug as a question mark made of dreamsand formed over his head. "Yeah, you said it, Sandy," he replied than began to paint his egg.

"Look, he is up to something very bad," North said. "I feel it, in my belly," he told them as he grabbed his gut and a trio of minifaires zoomed in on his belly as if to see this was true.

"Hang on, hang on, you mean to say, you summoned me here _three days before Easter_ - because of your _belly_?" he pointed at Santa's gut with the end of his paintbrush in annoyance as Sandy gulped down three cups of eggnog and Toothiana sent out more assignments. "Mate, if I did this to you three days before _Christmas_-"

"Please. Bunny." North gently patted Bunny's face, causing him to freeze up. "Easter is not Christmas." He took the egg out of his hand, juggling it as he walked off.

Bunny made a mock laugh then groaned, "Here we go…" He was not in the mood for games. "North, I, I don't have time for this. I've still got two million eggs to finish up."

Sandy observed the two's conversation, and then noticed an elf drinking his eggnog. He moved the cup away from the elf who then fell off the ledge. He looked up and saw the moon come into view through the ceiling window.

"No matter how much you paint, is still egg!" North countered.

Sandy dropped his cup and pointed at the moon to get their attention.

"Look, mate, I'm dealing with perishables." He took the egg back from his hands. "Right. You've got all year to prepare."

Beams of moonlight began to fill the room but no one noticed.

Sandy tried to whistle for their attention, only a music symbol formed over his head.

"Why are rabbits always so nervous?" North asked as he patted the back of Bunny's paw that was holding the egg, causing it to jump.

"And why are you always such a blowhard?!" Bunny countered this time.

Toothiana was still caught up in her own work, "Ontario, sector nine: five canines, two molars, and fourteen incisors. Is that all in one house?"

Sandy waved a sand flag over his head as he jumped up and down as more moonlight entered the room.

"Tooth," North turned his attention to. "Can't you see we're trying to argue?"

"Sorry," Tooth pulled her hands up in a sassy manner and responded with, "not all of us get to work one night a year. Am I right, Sandy?"

Sandy created a golden arrow over his head, pointing toward the ceiling.

It appeared as though Tooth knew what he was pointing to until she turned to her fairies to send them on more assignments. "San Diego, sector two! Five incisors, a bicuspid and a really loose molar on stand-by."

"Come on, mate, Pitch went out with the dark ages. We made sure of that - remember?" Bunny reminded North.

"I know it was him. We have serious situation!" North replied.

"Hey, I hate to interrupt the, "We work so hard once a year club" but could we concentrate on the matter-"

This isn't working, Sandy thought as he scowled. He stood next to the elf, who had tried to drink his eggnog and now trying to drink what was left of it. He grabbed the elf by the hat and vigorously shook to ring the bell on top.

Sandy now had the Guardians' attention. He dropped the dizzy elf, pointed at the moon he had formed out of sand over his head, then at the actually moon.

North turned and saw the Moon. "Aah! Man in Moon!" North said to his old friend. "Sandy, why didn't you say something?"

Sandy gave a deadpan stare as sand came out of his ears like steam.

North turned back to the Man in the Moon. "It's been a long time old friend! What is big news?"

Everyone turned to the center of the intense spot of moonlight, a figure, no, a shadow began to emerge.

It was the silhouette of Pitch Black.

"It is Pitch," Bunny said in disbelief as he turned to North.

North patted his belly, implying that he was right. He looked back to the moon and asked, "Manny...what must we do?"

The shadow vanished and the ray of moonlight intensified on the circle with the Guardians symbol on the floor. The symbol rose out of the ground, revealing a large gem at the head of the pillar.

"Ah, guys, you know what this means?" Tooth asked the group with a gasp.

The light refracted through the gem, illuminating the whole room.

"He's choosing a new guardian," North answered.

"What?" Bunnymund questioned. "Why?"

"Must be big deal. Manny thinks we need help."

"Since when do we need help?" Bunny said in an annoyed tone.

"I wonder who it's going to be," Tooth said in delighted excitement.

A golden four-leaf clover swirled above Sandy's head as a suggestion.

"Maybe the Leprechaun?" Tooth said aloud from Sandy's suggestion.

"Please not the Groundhog, please not the Groundhog," Bunnymund chanted under his breath.

Above the glowing stone, a blue light flashed then a figure, no, two figures appeared that stood back to back. One was a tall, slim hooded boy with a hand in his hoodie's pocket and the other hand holding a familiar hooked staff. The other figure was a little girl with straight hair the reached between her shoulders and elbows and wore a sweater over her dress.

"The Frost Children," North said, a bit perplexed by Manny's decision.

The three minifaires sighed and swooned over Jack's image, one even fainted. The Guardians were just stunned.

"Ah, I take it back!" The Easter Bunny whimpered. "The Groundhog's fine!"

Toothiana had heard about the Frost Siblings before, rumor had it that their teeth were as white as snow. She had always wanted to see if it were true. And it did help that Jack was a bit of a looker. She stopped herself from admiring the idea of seeing their teeth then stammered, "Well, ah, as long they help to ah...to protect the children, right?" She gave a guilty smile at the end.

"The Frost Siblings!" Bunnymund exclaimed. Those children were nothing but a menace. He waved his paw at the figures. "They don't care about children!" He laughed at how ridiculous the thought was. "All they've done is freeze water pipes and mess with my egg hunts." He did not like this at all. "They're irresponsible, selfish-"

"Guardians," North finished, nodding his head. He liked the thought that they would prove themselves. He could see the potential in them.

Bunny stopped in his tracks. "They are a lot of things, but they are not Guardians!"


	3. Jamie's Sled Ride

"How was that Jack?" Mary asked her brother about her prank. She had managed to cover over a dozen cars in ice and frost in about 18 seconds flat. Her hands tightly gripped on to the staff as the wind held her up; she looked as though she were just lounging on her stomach.

"Not bad," Jack smirked. He sat on the roof of the cathedral spire, he was quite impressed with what Mary had done. He chuckled at seeing the looks on the faces of a few of the car owners wondering how the frost appeared out of nowhere. "Let me show you how a pro does it."

Mary stuck out her tongue at him. "You're not all that great you know," she laughed. She floated up to the very top of the spire and grabbed onto it loosely with her hand and feet. "Your turn," she called out as she tossed the staff to Jack.

The staff passed over his head and he ran to grab it. He jumped off the edge and caught it then flew to a post office box.

Jack perched on the metal box than tapped it with the end of the staff. A streak of frost quickly went across the street and to a water fountain. A young Russian boy turned its handle to take a sip only for the water to turn to ice and stuck on his tongue. His two friends saw this and couldn't help but laugh.

The frost was still on the move though; it went over to a passing mailman who walking across the street then turned into a patch of ice right under feet. He scrambled for his balance then fell right on his butt.

But he didn't want his fun to end right there, he sent the trail of frost up the side of the building and past some windows. A little boy was about to feed his pet goldfish but a thin layer of ice went over the water before the food flakes reached it. Frost went over a few closed windows and one man, maybe he was a writer or a businessman, with a huge stack of papers right next to him, left his window open. A gust of wind sent the papers flying out the window. Nearby power lines and clothing lines frozen over as Jack passed them to reach his sister.

"Jack," Mary yelled as he rushed towards her. "Don't!"

Jack grabbed her off the spire as he let out a laugh. He held onto her tightly as they did a lap around the cathedral then landed back onto one of its spires. "Ah, now that, that was fun," he laughed. Mary started to chuckle along with him, she couldn't help it any longer.

"18 seconds, Jack," Mary told him in between giggles. "It's a tie!"

He ruffled her white hair, her bangs that were usually pushed to the side now covering her eyes. "Whatever Sis," he chuckled. "Hey wind!" he yelled at the sky. Mary pushed her bangs back and grabbed Jack's hand tightly. The wind howled, trees swayed, and leaves flew in their direction. Jack grinned as the wind grew stronger with every second. "Take us home!" he yelled.

The wind lifted them off their feet and carried the two out of Russia. They shouted with joy as they flew away.

* * *

They fell through the clouds, smiling as they went to the center of the town.

"Snow day!" Jack shouted at the top of his lungs.

They zoomed through the streets as pedestrians held onto their hats and jackets as gusts of wind, snow, and frost left in their wake.

They flew to the lake and skated across the surface like pros. The wind ripped a book out of a nearby boy's hands.

Mary quickly released Jack's hand once they landed. "I'm going skating!" she yelled as she ran off into the forest.

"Be careful," he told her as she past the first tree.

"Who's going to see me?" Mary joked then disappeared into the woods to get her skates.

Jack chuckled as he turned his attention to the brown-haired boy named Jamie who was just about picked up his book. The cover read "They're out there! - Mysteries, Mythical Creatures and the Unexplained Phenomena"

"Huh, that looks interesting. Good book?" he asked as the boy walked off.

Jamie didn't notice him and continued to walk off.

A pair of twins named Claude and Caleb came to Jamie as the laughed and rough-housed with each other. "Alright! Yeah!" Caleb cheered. He wore a red beanie over his head and a light blue snow jacket with a purple stripe going across.

"Wahoo! Snow day!" Claude hooted. His hair was combed back and wore a black jersey over a white long sleeved shirt.

"You're welcome," Jack told them, even though they couldn't hear him.

"Hey guys, wait up!" Jamie called as he ran toward them. "Are you guys coming to the egg hunt Sunday?"

"Yeah," Caleb said as it was obvious, "free candy!"

"I hope we can find the eggs with all this snow!" Claude yelled in excitement. They couldn't wait for Easter!

"Jack!" Mary called as she ran toward him with a pair of worn skates dangling by the laces she clutched tightly in her hand. He smiled as she ran up to him. "Can you help me with my skates?" she asked.

He ruffled her white hair and told her, "Next time, Frostbite."

She puffed her checks as she pouted, then dropped one of her skates onto the snow and stuffed her foot in the other. "You're no fun," she pouted as she put on the other skate. She skated off to the streets of Burgess as thin streaks of ice formed under the blades.

Jack laughed as she skated backwards and waved. He looked back and saw that the twin brothers continued to messing with one another.

"Stop!" Caleb laughed.

"No, you stop!" Claude chuckled.

Jamie pushed one of the planks of the fence and the three little boys walked into the yard.

"Whoa," Jamie told his friends, "it says here that they found Big Foot hair samples and DNA, in Michigan. That's like, super close!"

Jack watched them talk as he walked on the fencing, holding the staff over his shoulder. The group of boys were about 8 years-old Jack figured. On the back porch was a little blond girl with a pair of pink fairy wings on her back, playing with the family dog.

"Here we go again," Claude said aloud.

"You saw those videos too Claude," Jamie told him as he shut the book and placed it near his sled, "he's out there!"

"That's what you said about aliens," Caleb laughed.

"And the Easter Bunny," Claude added.

"The Easter Bunny is real," Jamie told them, looking a little smug as he held onto his red sled.

"Oh he's real alright," Jack confirmed, his staff now resting on his shoulders as he walked along the fence. "Real annoying, real grumpy, and _really_ full of himself."

"Come on, you guys believe anything," Claude laughed as he and his brother went to the front gate.

"Easter Bunny! Hop-hop-hop!" the little girl giggled as she hopped down the stairs. The dog bumped into her and she fell onto the grass then began to cry.

"Mom! Sophie fell again!" Jamie told her like this wasn't the first time it had happened.

Jamie's mother got outside and went to comfort her daughter.

"Are we going sledding or what?" said Claude.

"Jamie, hat?" Jamie's mother told him as she place the hat on to his head. "We don't want Mary Frost and Jack Frost nipping at your nose."

"Who are they?" Jamie asked but honestly didn't care that much.

"No one, honey. It's just an expression."

Jack's smile dropped. "Hey," he was offended. The three boys walked out of the yard and went across the street to meet up with a few of their friends. He hopped off the fence and grabbed a handful of snow from the ground. "Who are they?" he said to himself as he made a perfect snowball. He was a bit miffed that someone treated his existence was just a myth with not a single believer, that went double when his sister was involved in this crud. With his palm open, he blew onto the snowball with his icy breath. The snowball gained a light shade of blue. He was up to one of his tricks again.

He aimed at the little boy then threw the snowball. The snowball went soaring through the air and hit the back of Jamie's head.

At first, Jamie was a bit peeved that someone hit him while he was off guard. He looked up and saw his friends laughing; it was kind of funny when he thought about it. A mischievous sparkle came to his eyes, a big smile went across his face and a laugh came out right after. "Okay, who threw that?"

"Well, it wasn't bigfoot kiddo," Jack told him as he flew the group of kids.

Jamie scanned the area for culprits. He saw two of his friends making a barricade in the snow. There! He quickly made his snowball and threw it at the blonde boy with big glasses; his name was Monty, and he fell face first.

"Ow!" Monty mumbled.

Jack made another snowball and hit a girl who had a green sweater and a white hat; she was Pippa, and fell back. "Jamie Bennett! No fair!" she called out.

"You struck first!" Jamie laughed.

Out of nowhere the twins were hit by snowballs, though chances are they were Jack's.

"Free for all!" Jack shouted as he threw another snowball. Suddenly a snowball hit the side of Jack's head. He turned and saw Mary skating across the battlefield, hitting the kids with a few snowballs. He smiled from seeing her have fun with the other kids as they pummeled each other mercilessly with snowballs. "Alright, who needs ammo?" Jack asked as he supplied a few more snowballs.

"Look at that," Jack said to himself, watching everyone having fun in the snowball fight. Mary skated through the group of kids, laughing among them like she was a part of their group.

Jamie was using his sled as a shield while he was bombarded with snowballs. Slowly he was being pushed back against a snowman then crushed it as he fell back from one too many snowballs.

One snowball went over Jamie and hit a rather large girl in the back of the head. She turned around revealing she had short brown hair and a black tee under her pink jacket.

Fear came across all the children's faces as the girl whose name was Cupcake searched for who threw the snowball with gunslinger eyes.

Cupcake growled at them. It was clear that she was tough because she managed to stay intimidating even while wearing a pink tutu over her tights.

"Crud, I hit Cupcake," Pippa squeaked.

Monty pointed at Pippa. "She hit Cupcake."

"You hit Cupcake?" Claude asked in shock.

Jamie was flat on his back as he clenched his sled in fear. Not good, not good, not good! This was possibly the most intense moment of Jamie's young life.

Cupcake growled as she held onto the decapitated head of her snowman.

Out of nowhere, one of Jack's snowballs hit her in the face.

All the children gasped in horror.

Mary made a noise that was a mix of a gasp and a laugh.

"Oh!" Claude said.

"Did you throw that?" Caleb asked Monty.

"No," Monty told him as he hid behind Pippa.

"Wasn't me," Pippa announced.

Jack was perfectly balanced on the crook of the staff, his arm slowly retracting to his body after throwing the snowball.

"Jack," Mary whispered.

"Just wait," he told her.

Cupcake blinked, her lips curled like she was holding in a secret or a funny joke. A chuckle escaped then went onto full blown laughter. She held the snowman's head up in the air and started to chase the group of kids as she screamed in sheer joy.

All the kids joined in her game and tried run away. Jack and Mary flew and skated beside them respectively.

"Ooh, little slippery," Jack told them as he made a sheet of ice under there feet.

All the kids fell to the ground, except for Jamie, who had landed on his sled and began to slide head first down the slippery slope and into the streets.

"Jamie!" Monty yelled.

"Turn, turn!" Caleb instructed.

"That's the street!" Pippa screamed.

"What are you doing? Stop!" Claude called out in shock.

"There's traffic!" Cupcake said aloud.

Jamie shot out between the trees and zigzagged past a set of parked cars.

"Jack!" Mary screamed as her brother went after the little boy. She quickly caught up with him then yelled, "You can't do that to kids!"

"I do the same thing to you, and he's older than you," he replied quickly.

"I don't think he's been eight for 300 years!" she screamed as she saw Jamie's speed on the sled escalate.

"Whoa, don't worry kid, I gotcha," Jack yelled at Jamie as he made a new streak of ice under the sled. It made a turn, barely missing a moving truck that soon spun out of control. Furniture went out the back of the truck and a four car pile up soon took place.

Mary winced from seeing the damage take place, but the boy was a bigger priority to her at the moment.

"Keep up with me kid!" Jack cheered. "Take a left!" he shouted as they narrowly missed a man walking his two dogs.

"Hey slow down!" the man shouted as he shook his fist.

Jamie swerved to a dirt huge mound and made a small jump off the ground when he reached the top then landed right back on Jack's continually growing sheet of ice. "Whoa, no, no, no, no..." Jamie said to himself as he ended up on the sidewalk. Jack ran across the side of the buildings while Mary took control of the streak of ice trying to lead Jamie out of danger.

"Is that Jamie Bennett?" a woman asked her friend as said boy went right past her.

"Hey! Watch it!" her friend shouted.

"Sorry," Mary told them even though the apology wouldn't be heard.

"There you go!" Jack told her with a smirk on his face.

"You're not helping, Jack!" his sister scold.

"No! No!" Jamie whimpered.

"Look at that dude," some guy pointed in awe.

Jamie swerved off the sidewalk and back onto the street, almost knocking over a postman as he slid right under his leg. Jack flew by with a smile on his face, Mary felt one creep up on her and let Jack take control of the streak of ice.

Mary and Jamie's smiles dropped as they saw the oncoming snowplow.

"Whoa," Jack exclaimed then quickly diverted the trail and made an ice ramp. He made a small jump over it and landed on the soft snow.

Mary went in a different direction, not wanting to fly up in the air with no way of a safe landing. "I'll see you back home!" she shouted at the top of her lungs as her voice began to fade off into the distance. She skated passed a few cars and began to slowdown in a nearby alley.

Jamie shut his eyes as the ramp launched him over the street and high into the air, toward the town's statue of it founder: Thaddeus Burgess. Jamie's friends stood in awe with their mouths wide open as he sailed across the sky.

Jamie opened his eyes and his fear transformed into joy. This is amazing!

Jack looked at him with a giant smile on his face.

Jamie landed on a huge mound of snow as Jack jumped onto the town's statue.

"Oh my gosh!" Pippa exclaimed.

Jack cheered. "Yeah!" That was incredible, he thought as he bounced on the statue.

Jamie's friends went to his aide, hoping he was still alive.

"Wow, that looks serious, Jamie," Caleb checked out the landing site from the distance.

"Jamie, are you alright?" Pippa asked.

"Is he okay?" Monty wondered.

Jamie got up, still feeling the rush from his sled ride. "Whoa! Did you guys see that?!" He started to bounce up and down from the excitement. "It was amazing!" Jack felt content seeing Jamie tell his tale as he leaned against the statue. "I slid - I did a jump and I slid under a car-" The sofa that had fallen out of the moving truck skid to fault and pushed Jamie over. Jamie's hat flew right of his head.

Jack winced. "Whoops."

Claude cringed, "Ooh."

There was a moment of silence as they walked up to the red sofa. Jaime's hand shot up behind the couch with a tiny tooth between his fingers. "Cool! A tooth!" He exclaimed, showing off his gapped smile as he got up.

"Dude, that means cash!" Claude said.

"Tooth Fairy cash!" Caleb added.

"I love the Tooth Fairy!" Pippa said.

"Oh no…" Jack groaned, realizing his fun was cut short.

"That's totally awesome," Monty said.

"You lucky bug!" Claude congratulated with a pat on the back.

"Lucky," Caleb agreed.

"No," Jack groaned. This was his adventure, his sister's adventure. Not the Tooth Fairy's!

Jamie held onto his tooth with extreme care. "I gotta put this under my pillow."

"I wish I lost my tooth," Caleb and Pippa said at the same time.

No! This wasn't going to happen again! "Ah, wait a minute! Come on, hold on, _hold on!_ What about all that fun we just had? That wasn't the Tooth Fairy; that was us!"

"I lost two teeth in one day once - remember that?" Claude reminded his twin.

"What are you gonna spend your money on?" Monty asked as he jumped to Jamie's side.

"What are you gonna buy?" Cupcake asked her new friend.

"How much do you think she's going to leave?" Caleb asked

Jack's frustration grew as the kids continued forward. Storm clouds gathered around and darkened. The sky began to rumble and snow was about to fall.

"Let's go," Pippa told the others. "I'm cold."

"My ears are freezing!" Caleb complained as the temperature dropped.

"I can't feel my toes," Monty added.

"It's cocoa time!" Claude cheered.

"Oh, I'm cold, I'm cold," Cupcake mocked.

Jack jumped off the statue and in front of the group of kids. "What's a guy gotta do to get a little attention around here!" he muttered at them. Jamie and his friends just walked right through and past him.

Jack was shaken for a moment. The moment passed and he knew nothing had changed. He whipped up the wind and went back to the forest.


	4. No Belief but Still Here

He gripped his staff tightly as he clenched his teeth. He hated being invisible; the thought kept screaming in his mind. Useless and a nobody; that's all he was.

He stood atop a sturdy branch. 300 years of being alive gave plenty of time for working on your balance.

He glared at the staff. How far could he throw it? 30, maybe 50 yards. Only way to find out. He threw it as far as he could, didn't even bother to look afterword. "Why should I care?" he huffed as he sat down then pulled his hood over his head.

* * *

Mary walked along the sidewalk barefooted, her hand wrapped around by the laces of her skates. She was tired of skating for the moment; it lost its fun if she did it all the time. She looked around and was pretty sure she was near the houses where all the children lived in. Laughter was one of the signs.

Quietly, even though it was unnecessary, she tiptoed to one of the fences and peaked over it. Behind the wooden fencing was the group of kids she and Jack were playing with awhile ago. She watched the kids having their hot chocolate and building an army of tiny snowmen. But where was Jack? she thought. He wasn't within sight.

She wasn't paying much attention to what they were talking about until she heard the Tooth Fairy's name. Carefully she hopped on top of the fence then sat down, she squinted at whatever was in Jamie's hand - Was that a temporary tattoo on the back? - then saw his tooth and noticed the front gap in his smile.

"Oh, Jack," she sighed. That's why he wasn't with them anymore.

Joy seemed to slowly leave her as she thought about Jack. Most of the time she was okay with not being seen, sure it hurt sometimes but she couldn't hold onto that. Nothing would get better if she did. Jack was different though, he hated being invisible. Some days he would be in a rage, on others there were a few tears. She looked up at the clouds, they were darker than before and there was a soft rumble from up above. Sulking, he was definitely sulking right now.

She hopped off the fence and walked toward the huge tree in Jamie's backyard. The tree had thick branches with most of its leaves still attached. She tied the skates' laces together and threw them onto one of the branches. Now she had an excuse ready.

She lifted herself over the fence and ran across the street, past the lake, and back to the forest.

"Jack?" she called out. No answer. She walked a few more feet before she called out again. "Jack?" She tried again. "Ja-" she stepped on something. She felt a tug at her heart and knew what it was. She wiped the thin layer of snow off the staff then scooped it up with her foot. The staff was in the air for a second and she grabbed it.

"Why do you always do this?" she said aloud, she wasn't completely sure if she was talking to herself or if Jack could hear her.

She went to a tree and tapped it with the staff. Frost covered the bark in seconds. "I know," she said to no one impartial, her voice becoming quieter. She tapped a few more trees as she walk though the woods. "I don't like it either, being invisible and not being believed in." She leaned against one of the trees, "Just because we're not real to them, doesn't mean we aren't real at all." She took in a deep breath then mumbled to herself. "It doesn't mean we're not here." Mary clutched the staff tightly and let the wind carry her up to the wooden arms of the forest.

* * *

After several minutes of searching she found her brother sitting on a branch. All hunched over, his hands stuff in his pocket and his hood over his head. Slowly she floated towards him, he looked tired but she had a plan to make him feel better. Hopefully it would work.

"Jaaack?" Mary asked as she clutched onto Jack's shoulder and gripped the staff with her feet. He didn't answer her. Soon she stood on top of his shoulders and held the staff behind her back, looking at her brother upside-down. "Did someone walk through you again?" she asked.

He ignored her and continued to sulk.

She pouted then grabbed the strings of his hoodie, blinding him and making him jump in surprise. He fell off the branch and into the snow. Mary then grabbed Jack's ankle and pulled him up from the ground.

"Haha, okay! Mary!" Jack joked as his sister used the wind to pick him up.

"No!" she told him before he could ask.

"Mary, can I-"

"No," she said again as they floated away from the forest.

"Can I just have the staff back?"

"Nope!" She laughed.

* * *

Mary dropped her brother onto the snow and heard the soft crunch right after. She stood right next to him as he rubbed the back of his head.

"What is with you?" He complained as he got off his back.

"I lost my skates," she told him, sounding genuinely sad about it. She looked down at her bare feet as she started to sulk.

Jack sighed then bent down to Mary's eye level. "Okay," he said calmly. "Where was the last place you saw them?"

"On my feet," Mary joked. She looked back up and saw Jack's crooked smile. She handed the staff back to Jack and smiled.

Jack ruffled his sister's snowy hair then chuckled, "Now where are they really?"

"In a tree," she mumbled as she swayed. The frost on the red and white plaid designs decorating the bottom of her brown dress shimmered in the moonlight.

Jack kept his hood up, showing the frost that was embellished on the seams and openings of his navy blue hoodie. "Now which tree? Because I'm not going to go through every tree for a pair of skates."

"If I knew then they wouldn't be lost," she countered.

Jack sighed, "Okay then." He got back up then stretched his back. A soft breeze allowed him to glide over to one of the houses. No skates in the tree though. And not in the one after that. Nor the one after that.

* * *

"I'm never going to find this thing," Jack said under his breath as he checked another tree. He sighed from exhaustion. An hour of searching, that's how long he went looking for a pair of stupid skates.

He paused for a moment. No, it wouldn't be there.

He went over to the tree in Jamie's backyard. He dug through the shroud of leaves and saw Mary's skates hanging at the base of one of the branches.

He glanced up at the window to Jamie's bedroom and saw the little boy jumping on his bed with his sister while their mother stood beside them. He hopped off the tree and used the wind to reach the window sill. His fingers clutched the edge and he hoisted himself up to get a better view.

The first thing he saw was a drawing taped on the pale wall of his room, it was of Jamie flying in midair on his sled with his friends cheering for him on the sidelines. There were even more drawings on his wall than Jack took the time to count. He saw several charts hanging on the walls; they were about UFOs, aliens, Bigfoot, you name it.

His attention went to Jamie as he watched him with his toy robot; its wings had glow sticks tied to it. "I did this jump and it was amazing and I slide under a car and it was awesome!" Jamie told Sophie in pure excitement. "Then I was flying down this hill and I was like whoosh, whoosh, whoosh through all these cars, and then the sled hit this, this thing, and I was like way up in the air." He jumped onto his bed then used his robot to show his mom how he flew. "And then _bam_!"

He jumped again then crashed to the bed as Sophie and their dog, Abby, sat on his bed, listening to every detail of his story. Sophie gasped in awe. "The sofa hit me, and, and see?" He opened his mouth and pointed at the gap between his teeth then said, "My tooth came out," in a series of mumbled words.

The little blonde went up to her brother and giggled as she tried to stick one of her fingers in the gap of his gums.

"Alright you, tooth under your pillow?" Their mother asked Jamie as the two kids began to calm down.

"Yeah. I'm ready." Jamie told his mom as he placed his toy robot on his nightstand then pushed one of its buttons to light it up. Quickly he grabbed the flashlight he had hidden under his pillow then lit it up to see if the batteries were still working.

"Now don't stay up trying to see her, Jamie, or she won't come." His mother advised.

Jamie turned off the light then told his mom, "But I can do it this time!" He quickly turned to Sophie then asked her, "You wanna help me, Soph? We can hide and see the Tooth Fairy!"

Sophie loved this idea! "Hide, hide, hide, hide!" she cheered.

"Uh uh, straight to bed now, mister," their mother told them as picked Sophie off them bed and lifted her over her shoulder.

The dog got up and began licking Jamie's face after the little boy moaned, "Mom…"

They were happy though, Jack thought as he began to smile. He felt a pang soon after though and frost began to cover the window. He didn't need to see anymore then the wind pushed him up letting him climb onto the roof.

Waiting for him was Mary sitting along the edge, humming a nonsense tune she made up for herself. Her arms wrapped around her skates as her feet dangled. She looked at Jack then smiled, "found them."

"You planned this," Jack stated as he walked toward Mary.

She looked away then mumbled, "Maybe." She glanced up and saw the moon, all big and bright.

"Why?" he asked, trying to make it sound like a laugh as he sat right beside her.

"You were mad that the Tooth Fairy got credit for the sled ride," she told him. Jack didn't say anything as he went slightly wide-eyed. "I saw them talking about her awhile ago," she explained as her brother sighed.

"Is there a reason why you made me go through this?" He asked as he leaned back and waited for the Sandman to get to work.

"I- I don't like seeing you sad," she said. "You make it seem like no one believes in you."

"_Nobody _does believe in us," Jack countered.

"I do," Mary simply stated.

Jack paused for a moment then muttered, "We don't count." Mary looked back down at her bare feet as his words sunk in. "I'm sorry," he told her as he wrapped his arm around her.

"It's okay," she mumbled as she wiped the tears away.

Jack hugged Mary tightly and instantly began to regret what he had said. He looked up at the moon and wished he knew what they were doing wrong. They tried everything and no one has ever seen them. The Man in the Moon put them here and the least he could was tell them, tell them why.

The moon just continued to shine down in silence, just as always.

"People will see us one day," Mary hoped as she gently pulled herself out of her brother's embrace. She and Jack stood up then left the Bennett house hand in hand.

Jack leaped onto the telephone pole with ease as the wind carried Mary to the wire. She did a little skip as Jack slid on the other, ice forming in their wake.

A stream of dreamsand zipped behind them. Mary quickly turned around and smiled as another golden thread rushed by, then another, and soon dreamsand covered the sky.

"Right on time, Sandman," Jack said out loud as he looked up, pulling his hood down and a smile now on his lips. He honestly needed this, everything became too sad. Now with dreams running wild he and his sister could finally have some fun again.

The dreamsand descended from the sky and drifted into windows around the town. The Frost Siblings ran along the wires in different directions. Jack reached out at one of the passing streams and soon a golden dolphin emerged. The dolphin turned to Jack then did a few spins around him before continuing its way to a sleeping child.

Mary's touch managed to graze a golden thread, a fluffy golden sheep bounced beside her. She petted its coat and felt the grainy texture. She waved goodbye as it hopped away to a far off house.

More streams flew by, one going into Cupcake's room. The dreamsand drifted throughout the room then swirled over Cupcake's sleeping head and morphed into her riding a unicorn. The young girl smiled as the lovely dream trotted around the room.

The pink room began to darken as a wispy, shadowy figure crawled out of the bed. He rose up, revealing his gray skin and long black rode, obscuring his body like a shadow.

He laughed as he studied Cupcake's happy dream. "Ohhhh," Pitch mocked. "I thought I heard the clippity-clop of a unicorn. What an adorable dream!" His face softened as he looked at Cupcake with his golden eyes.

He leaned toward her and clasped his hands. "And look. At. Her. Precious child. So sweet, so full of hope and wonder." He raised his hand to the pleasant dream. "Why, there's only one thing missing..." He poked the unicorn with a bony fingure and it began to shrivel and twist in pain as the black sand took over. "A touch of fear."

Cupcake flinched as the last of the dreamsand disintegrated into the black sand. "That never gets old!" Pitch snickered in delight as the dream transformed into his black corrupted nightmare sand. "Feel your fear. Come on. Come on, that's right," he whispered as the black sand morphed into a horrific, shadowy horse. A literal nightmare.

The nightmare bucked in the air around its master. "Yes," Pitch said to himself. "What a pretty little Nightmare." He grabbed it swiftly and held it. "Now, I want you to go tell the others the wait is over."

The nightmare flew out the window to join the others who were coursing through the streets. They took off and flew into the night sky.

Pitch stepped back into the darkness and appeared in a nearby alley. He did not dare touch the streets that were shrouded in moonlight and stayed close to the shadows. He looked up at the sky, staring at the moon. "Don't look at me like that, old friend. You must have known this day would come. My Nightmares are finally ready," he told him as they rushed through the night. "Are your Guardians?"

* * *

The dreamsand began to fade from the sky, Jack continued to walk along the telephone wire as Mary jumped and ran through the streets.

A shadowy figure zipped by Mary, who in turn, went to follow it.

Jack didn't see her run off, when he turned around his lips made a frown. Soon after, he heard a scream. "Ja-!"

"Mary!" he yelled in worry then leaped over a house and onto the top of a tree. His fist clenched around the staff, waiting for something to move.

The same figure rushed past him and Jack was on the move. He jumped out of the tree and onto a truck in a nearby alley. The shadow knocked over a trash can and the sound echoed throughout the alley.

Jack jumped down with his staff ready as he walked though the alleyway and into the clearing.

"Hello, mate." A familiar voice called.

Swiftly, Jack turned around ready to strike.

"Been a long time. Blizzard of 68, I believe?" he told him as he played with his boomerang. Jack squinted as the figure stepped into the light. He had long ears and grayish-blue fur with darker markings on his shoulders, legs and forehead. "Easter Sunday, wasn't it?" Bunnymund asked him.

"Bunny?" Jack said completely bewildered, the confusion passed and gave a glare at the guardian. "Where's Mary?" he asked as his fists tighten around the staff.

Bunny whipped out his boomerang and casually looked at it as he held it in his hands. "She's not too far off."

"Jack," a small voice whimpered.

He turned to the source and saw two huge yetis, one of them holding a huge sack. "Mary!" Jack rushed to the abominable snowmen.

The yeti grabbed him quickly then shoved him into the sack as soon as the other yeti opened it.

Neither of the siblings could see anything.

"I'm sorry, Jack," Mary mumbled, holding her skates so they wouldn't prod at Jack.

Jack just hugged her. "You're okay, that's what matters."

"What's the Easter Bunny doing with the yetis?" she asked.

Jack didn't know.

They paused and heard a soft jingling after one of the yetis spoke in their jumbled language.

A yeti had taken out one of North's snow globes, shook it, and smashed it to the ground. A magic portal appeared in front of them, the edges glowed and the center showed North's fortress.

"Durtal bardla burdlew," one of the yetis told Bunny, making their way for Bunny to leap in.

"Me?" Bunnymund chuckled. "Not on your nelly. See you back at the pole," he told them. He stamped the ground twice and the ground swirled open. He hopped into the tunnel and soon it disappeared. In its place, a small flower grew.

Without much as a second thought, the yeti tossed the Frost Siblings into the magic portal. They both yelled in terror as they had no idea what was happening.

The yetis jumped in right after and the portal disappeared.


	5. A Meeting with the Big Four

In the main room of North's fortress, the Guardians waited for the newest addition of the group to arrive.

Bunnymund hopped out of a newly formed tunnel with an annoyed expression with what was to come.

"Where are they?" North asked, hoping to see the children behind his friend.

"They'll be here soon," Bunny answered then leaned against on of the pillars with his arms crossed.

As Sandy waited, Tooth went back to business with her fairies. "Tangiers! Incivie du haut, 421 rue de Barat! Allez!" she ordered.

North's portal appeared seconds later, Mary and Jack's yelling loud and clear as the sack came flying out. Their screams stopped when they landed on the ground with a thud, groans came soon afterward.

In the darkness, the two spirits struggled to find an opening. Once they found it, they were greeted with two elves staring at them who then quickly ran off.

"They're here," a deep voice announced as they tried to figure out where they were.

Mary was the first one to crawl out and saw two figures looking down at them; an immense man with a long white beard and mustache and thick black eyebrows and a squat man with golden hair and tiny feet. Beside them was a young woman covered in green feathers with long feathers that started at her waistline and ended at her knees that gave the appearance of the dress.

She gave an address to a fairy as Jack pushed the fabric off of him to get a better view of everything. "Walla Walla, Washington. We've got a trampoline mishap at 1340 Ginger Lane. Canine, lateral and central incisor. Ouch!"

"Quiet," North told the Guardians. He cleared his throat and all turned their attention to the bewildered white-haired children. "Hey, here they are! Jack Frost! Mary Frost!" Raising his arms, welcoming the Frost Children.

A snowflake appeared above Sandy's head as Toothiana flitted in excitement along with her fairies.

"No way," said Mary.

"You've gotta be kidding me," Jack mumbled.

The Yetis suddenly picked them up by the shoulders to lift them onto their feet. Jack calmly told them, "Hey, hey. Whoa, put me down."

Mary, on the other hand, flailed for a bit, she didn't want any yeti touching her. Not after basically being kidnapped by them.

They were soon back on the ground, Mary quickly picking up her skates as her brother stayed calm and collect.

"I hope the yetis treated you well?" North asked as Jack walked forward.

Jack kicked the staff up with his foot and quickly caught it. "Oh, yeah. I love being shoved in a sack and tossed through a magic portal," heavy sarcasm on the side.

"Oh, good! That was my idea!" North told them. The buff man turned to Bunnymund, "You know Bunny, obviously."

"Obviously," Jack smirked.

Mary stuck her tongue out at the Easter Bunny as the pooka in question grumbled.

"And the Tooth Fairy?"

Before either one could answer, Toothiana glided toward them, her minifaires hovering around staring and tweeting.

"Hello there," she greeted then flitted from Jack to Mary. "I've heard a lot about you," she told them, "and your teeth."

"Excuse me?" Mary wasn't sure if she heard that right.

"Open up!" Tooth told her as she moved in closer. "Are they really as white as they say? Yes!" she said as she opened the adorable girl's mouth. She gasped in delight then turned to Jack to see the same results. "Oh, they really do sparkle like freshly fallen snow," she confirmed to her fairies.

Several swooning fairies flutter around them, batting their lashes at Jack and cheering at Mary. Jack gave a smile as Mary stepped closer to her brother, a little overwhelmed by the sudden attention. The Tooth Fairy collected herself and told them, "Girls, pull yourselves together. Let's not disgrace the uniform," and went back to North's side with the fairies quickly following.

"And Sandman," North introduced. Sandy had dozed off and was floating in his sleep. "Sandy! Sandy!" North patted the dream maker's arm to wake him up, it didn't work. "Wake up!" He yelled.

Sandy awoke and stepped toward Jack and Mary with a smile on his face.

Mary waved at him and gave a small smile.

"Hey! Ho! Anyone wanna tell me why I'm here?" said an impatient Jack, wanting to get straight to the point. His sister sat down criss-cross applesauce with her skates on her lap.

The Sandman raised his hand and wisps of dreamsand formed above his head. The barrage of images included a crescent moon, a snowflake, a man, some strange swirls, and after that the images went by too fast to understand.

Mary raised her eyebrow in confusion, "I'm sorry, but that's not helping."

"Thanks anyway little man," Jack told Sandy then began to walk away from the Guardians. "We must have done something _really_ bad to get you four together," he said as he frosted a passing elf with a tray of cookies. The elf spun and fell to the ground. Mary couldn't help but notice that Sandy actually smiled from the act. "Are we on the naughty list?" he asked as he turned back to them.

North chuckled. "On naughty list? You hold record!" He became serious. "But no matter. We overlook. Now we are wiping clean the slate," he told them as he brushed one of his tattoos.

"How come?" Mary asked as Jack stood behind her.

"Ah, good question," Bunnymund said, but it seemed directed more toward North.

"How come?" North repeated. "I tell you how come!" He pointed at Jack and Mary. "Because now...you are Guardians!"

"What?" Mary said deadpan as she bolted up.

During their confusion, yetis lit and raised ceremonial torches behind North. Elves leapt from columns and began playing fanfare. Homemade banners descended.

Two of Tooth's minifairies presented a necklace of paper snowflakes and tried to place it on Mary, Jack brushed them off as he backed away from them while he wrapped his arm over her.

"What are you doing?" Mary asked them.

"Get, get that off me!" Jack yelled at them as he backed against one of the yetis then quickly shrugged him off.

Both of their voices were drowned out by the sound of horns and drums.

"This is the best part!" North told them in excitement. A marching band composed of elves strikes up in the room with North stomping to the tune.

Yetis spun the torches as they marched forward, moving Jack and Mary to a designated spot on the floor. It was silver and had the Guardians' insignia. Soon the yetis stopped twirling the torches and stood behind the Frost Siblings.

Confusion continued to escalate for them.

An elf tugged the laces of Mary's skates, she pulled them out of the elf's grasp and saw a pair of blue elf shoes. The elf pointed at her feet then back at the shoes. She shook her head in disapproval.

A gray yeti handed North a large book. North blew the dust off the ancient book and opened it. He cleared his throat, ready to start the ceremony.

Jack clenched his jaw from annoyance. Mary looked at practically everything to make any sense of it.

The minifairies continued to fawn, Sandy smiled as he raised his glass, and Bunnymund rolled his eyes.

Mary glanced at Jack, his fist tightened around the staff.

He slammed the staff down, frost spread across the floor and wind blasted through the room. The torches went out and the book in North's hands flew into his face. Elves were sliding the other direction as the music quickly died down.

"What makes you think we want to be Guardians?" Jack asked.

"I don't recall signing up for anything," Mary added.

Bursting into laughter, North shut the book then looked at the siblings stone faced. "Of course you do!" His colleagues, mainly Tooth, looked a bit uncomfortable with the sudden change of atmosphere. "Music!" North told his elves.

The elves blasted their trumpets again. Let the celebration recommence.

"No music!" Jack ordered.

The music petered out again. An elf threw his horn to the ground and stormed off like some kind of diva.

"Guys," Jack started. "This is nice and flattering and all, but I don't think we're qualified for this kind of stuff," he told them as he jumped onto the mantle and began to walk from one end to another.

Mary looked at her brother then went to sit on the edge of the mantle and turned back to the Guardians. "Aren't you all hard work and deadlines?" she asked. "All I hear about you is how much you have to do every single day."

"Exactly," Jack agreed as he reached the end and sat next to his sister. "We're more snowballs and fun times," he told them as he smiled at Mary who in turn smiled back. He handed Mary the staff so he could stuff his hands in his pocket. "We're not Guardians," he said as he turned to them. Even if they were, they would only see each other as their Guardian.

The Easter Bunny stepped into the conversation. "Yeah, that's exactly what I said!" he told North as he nudged his arm.

The Tooth Fairy flew toward them, gently placing her hand on Mary's shoulder. "Jack, Mary, I don't think you understand what it is we do," she told them as she lured their gaze to the massive globe behind them. "Each of those lights is a child," she said, completely calm and collect.

Stepping off the mantle, they stared at the globe, taking in the enormity of the situation. Suddenly North was at their side adding further explanation. "A child who believes. And good or bad, naughty or nice, we protect them," he told them. There was a pause and then some grunting. "Tooth, fingers out of mouth," he told her.

This time Tooth was examining Jack's teeth. "Oh, sorry," she apologized, she couldn't help it. "They're beautiful," she told him before going back to the Guardians.

"Okay, no more wishy-washy!" North spoke. "Pitch is out there doing who knows what!"

Mary snickered, "the Boogeyman?" She could never get past his title.

"Yes!" North told her then pointed to the lights. "Pitch threatens us, he threatens them as well."

"All the more reason to pick somebody more qualified!" said Jack, now walking away from the group.

"Pick? You think we pick?" North was starting to get agitated. "No, you were chosen like we were all chosen. By Man in Moon."

Mary looked at them wide-eyed as Jack turned around. "What?" both said dumbstruck.

"Last night," Tooth informed. "He chose you."

"Maybe," Bunny added. He still wasn't to keen on the idea.

"The Man in the Moon," Jack mumbled under his breath. He looked up at the skylight, watching the moon shine down on Earth.

"He talks to you?" Mary asked, her mouth slightly slack. A pain was in her chest from hearing something like this. She wasn't sure if she should have felt hurt by this or not.

"You see, you can not say no," North said. "It is destiny."

Jack was still in shock, he'd convinced himself Manny didn't talk to anyone, and that's why they had been ignored for so long. "But why, why wouldn't he tell me that himself?"

Mary continued to stare at nothing, trying to figure out what they had done to be ignored for 300 years.

Jack gave an exasperated sigh as he ran his hand through his hair. "After 300 years this is his answer?" He turned to the Guardians, getting madder by the second. "To spend eternity like you guys cooped up in some, some hideout thinking of, of new ways to bribe kids?" he pointed at them as the main example. "No no, that's not for me," he shouted at the Man in the Moon at the end. "No offense," he added, having calmed down now.

North, Tooth, and Sandy were completely stunned. Mary looked at her brother then slowly went up to him and held his hand. She wasn't sure on what to do.

Bunny, on the other hand, "How, how, how is that not offensive?" he was actually relieved with this turn of events. He turned to the others as Jack started to walk away with Mary by his side. "You know what I think? I think we just dodged a bullet. I mean, what do these clowns know about bringing joy to children anyway?" Bunny said as he stepped forward then began to scratch his ear with one of his back paws.

Mary stopped then turned to the Easter Bunny, she was furious. "Have you ever heard of a snow day? It might not be one of your magical walking hard-boiled eggs, but kids love what we do!"

Bunnymund rose then replied with, "But none of 'em believe in you." He marched forward, leaning toward her. "Do they? You see, you're invisible, mate. It's like you don't even exist."

Mary kept her ground and glare composed as she felt the tears begin to well up.

"Bunny! Enough!" Tooth told him, not happy with what the situation was turning into.

Now it was Jack's turn. "No, the kangaroo's right." Jack said.

Bunny turned his attention to Jack and glared at him. "The, the what… what'd you call me? I am _not a kangaroo,_ mate."

"Oh," Jack scoffed. "And this whole time I thought you were." He leaned forward this time. "If you're not a kangaroo, what are you?"

"I'm a bunny. The Easter Bunny. People believe in me."

Okay, nothing is going well. Sandy thought as he took in a deep breath then nudged North, getting him to acknowledge the tension in the air.

North spoke. "Frost. Walk with me."


	6. Busy Workshop

North lead the Frost Siblings into a spherical elevator; it was mainly composed of wood and resembled a Christmas ornament in small ways. They waited to reach the bottom in silence, Jack stood next to Mary as she let her skates dangle on the crook on the staff.

"It's nothing personal, North." Jack told him. "What you all do, it's just, it's not our thing."

Once they reached their destination, the door opened and the three stepped out into North's factory.

"Man in Moon says it is your thing," North replied as he wrote on a yeti's clipboard, probably signing papers for something. He then tossed the pen over his shoulder and added, "We will see!"

With huge footsteps and a lightning pace, North rushed through the factory floor.

Quickly Jack and Mary ran to catch up to Santa, excited to finally see the workshop. "Slow down, wouldja?" Jack called out as he spun to see the whole place. "We've been trying to bust in here for years, I want a good look."

"What do you mean, 'bust in?'" an irked North asked. Quickly he inspected a red dollhouse carried by a yeti, it was looking good, and then he continued forward.

"It doesn't matter," Mary waved off. "We never got past the yetis," she chuckled.

A low grumbling came from behind and Mary didn't want to know and kept following North as Jack turned to see an angry gray yeti pounding his fist into his palm.

"Oh, hey Phil," Jack grinned.

"Jack, hurry," Mary told him, pouting at him.

Jack scoffed then quickly caught up with Mary who rolled her eyes at him. But still both were fascinated with the factory bustling with activity as North surveyed everything. Yetis were building toys and moving huge packages. They saw a pink princess castle, a toy robot with yellow wings; it kind of looked like the one that boy Jamie had minus the glow sticks, a big red fire truck, and a purple electric guitar. Each station for each of the toys had a sculpture of ice of the respective toy; they were probably used as a model for it.

Elves were test piloting a variety of flying toys, suddenly a toy duck flew over Jack's head. Quickly Jack ducked in time, "Whoa." Mary grabbed Jack's hand and pulled him so they could keep up with Santa.

"Don't the elves make the toys?" Mary asked North as she released Jack's hand once they caught up.

North leaned toward her and whispered, "We just let them believe that."

The siblings paused then looked at each other, a little perplexed by the new found secret. They looked over a small group of elves, two were eating – was that Christmas ornaments? – One covered himself in Christmas lights then nodded to his buddy to plug it in. The elf lit up, electrocuting himself in the process but didn't seem bothered by that as he gave a strange smile.

Mary looked at the elves in shock while Jack seemed slightly amused by it.

Placing his hands on their shoulders, North stood between the siblings and told the elves, "Very nice! Keep up good work!" then pulled them away from the scene to prevent any further distractions.

Continuing though the workshop, they passed a yeti putting the finishing touches on a cute blue toy robot.

"I don't like it," North told the gray yeti. "Paint it red."

The yeti looked at him in dismay and turned to over 50 of the finished blue robots next to him, he then slammed his head against his desk in mix of frustration and sadness.

With no one looking, Jack grabbed one of the blue robots off the shelf then handed it to Mary. "Merry Christmas," he joked.

Mary laughed as she hugged her new toy with her free arm. "Thanks, Jack."

"Step it up, everybody!" North ordered the yetis.

They continued to move to the opposite chamber as everyone began to quicken pace with their work.

The three entered North's office, Mary beamed at the ice sculptures that were on North's desk and moved in on them to get a closer look. Jack was stunned at all the toys lined along the shelves and the sketches on the walls. Everything that was being made in the factory started from this workshop.

North dusted his hands then rolled his sleeves up. A light jingling entered the room, it was an elf handing North a platter with a fruit cake on top. North took the platter and the elf lost his footing then fell to the ground, quickly he scurried out of the room right after.

"Fruit cake?" North offered.

Jack looked at the dessert then back at North. "Ah, no, thanks," Jack declined.

North tossed the fruit cake and the plate shattered on the ground.

Mary's head bolted up from hearing the crash and she turned see what had just happened.

"Now we get down to tacks of brass," North said as he cracked his knuckles.

Jack looked at North slightly confused as he mumbled the phrase under his breath.

The wind slammed North's office door behind Jack. Wide-eyed, Jack looked at the door and saw in lock itself. Turning back, North moves in on Jack, backing him against the door. "Who are you?" North asked.

Mary dropped the toy and rushed to her brother. She aimed the staff at North and shot a stream of frost at the back of his head. Not to injure, but to get his attention. "Don't touch him," Mary ordered. She gripped the staff tighter, almost ready for a fight.

Realizing this wouldn't work, North backed away from her brother. Now with a different approach, North calmly told them, "If Man in Moon chose you to be a Guardian, you must have something very special inside. What is your center?"

"My center?" they asked in unison.

Standing straight, North began to stroke his beard as he looked at them curiously. "Hmmmm?"

His gaze went to his shelf of Russian nesting dolls. He went up to it and picked up the one that was carved in his likeness. "Here. This is how you see me, no? Very big, intimidating." he began to walk across the workshop's floor. Jack and Mary looked back at each other, unsure on how to respond. "But if you get to know me a little," he added as he handed Jack the doll then went toward his desk.

Jack gave him a curious look.

"Well, go on," North urged.

Jack twisted the top half then pulled it off, revealing another North doll, this one with a more typical Santa Claus vibe – it had red cheeks and was cheery.

"You are downright jolly," Jack told him.

"Ah, but not just jolly..."

He encouraged Jack to keep opening the dolls. Each one getting smaller as Jack removed them. All were versions of North, but slightly different from the other.

"I am also mysterious," This doll was using its cape to hide the lower half of his face. "And fearless," the next doll looked like he was screaming out a battle cry. "And caring," this one had him hugging a baby deer. North handed Mary the blue robot she had dropped while ago. "And at my center..." North told them as he approached Jack.

Jack looked down and dropped the final Russian doll into the palm of North's hand. It was probably the size of a jellybean and had a pair of huge blue eyes. North then handed Jack the doll.

"There's a tiny wooden baby?" Mary asked.

"Look closer," he told them. "What do you see?"

Jack held it up to examine it, he was at a loss of words.

Going for the obvious, Jack went with, "You have big eyes?"

"Yes!" North beamed. "Big eyes. Very big. Because they are full of_ wonder_!" He walked toward his desk then raised his hands and the toys sprung to life. "That is my center. It is what I was born with. Eyes that have always seen the wonder in everything!" Jack-in-the-boxes popped up, toy trains sped around the room, soldiers marched about, and toy planes flew overhead. "Eyes that see lights in the trees, and magic in the air!"

A toy plane glided past them and the door opened. They followed it and saw it fly around the room, circling the globe of golden lights. But that wasn't all there was in the massive chamber, there were dozens of other toys flying and floating.

"This wonder is what I put into the world, and what I protect in children. It is what makes me a Guardian. It is my center," North told them, now standing by them. "What is yours?" he asked.

Jack looked down at his palm the wooden baby staring back. Mary shook her head as she leaned against her brother. "We don't know," he told North.

North closed Jack's hand around the tiny wooden doll. Jack smiled at him.

Some tweeting came from the distance and Mary nudged Jack to look. Flitting behind the window in North's workshop was Toothiana. Why was she out in the arctic?

Soon afterward, Bunny and Sandy rushed down the hallway. Bunnymund stood up and went straight to the point. "We have a problem, mate! Trouble at the Tooth Palace."


	7. Not a Rickety, Old Sleigh

Mary nudged at her brother, wanting to leave as soon as possible.

"We should probably get going now," Jack told North as he took hold of the staff. He grabbed his sister's hand then started to sidestep around the Guardians. "You got your thing with the Tooth Palace and we-" a soft wall of fur stopped Jack and Mary from progressing forward.

A sheepish grin went across Mary's face as Jack's sentence was replaced with another. "Oh, hey Phil," he said in a nervous chuckle.

* * *

North pushed the mahogany double doors to the launching shed where his sled was located. "Boys, ship shape," North told the yetis. "As soon as impossible." Bunny and Sandy were right behind him as Phil held Jack and Mary in each hand.

"No, you're not making me go in some dumb sleigh," she grumbled as she hit the yeti's hand. Mary kept trying to squirm out but it wasn't working, she glanced at Jack and saw him mouthing to her that it was going to be okay.

Phil soon released Jack, knowing he wouldn't do anything stupid. He then placed Mary back on the ground once she stopped squirming.

Sandy gave the girl a pat on the back to calm her nerves. Mary gave a small pout though she did loosen up from the kind gesture. She was a little bitter from having to give one of the elves her toy robot Jack got her.

"So we get to Tooth's Palace in your rickety old sleigh and then what?" Jack tried to ask but was quickly drowned out by the sound of the creaking mahogany doors opened by the yetis and the pounding hooves of reindeer.

The sleigh was what neither of them had expected. It was as though North had combined it with a hot-rod and snow mobile.

"Whoa," Jack said, completely taken by it.

Mary's eyes widened as she saw the wings on its sides, she almost got knocked over by one of the reindeer as she tried to get closer to the sleigh.

"Hey! Moi deti, moi deti," North shouted at the reindeer. "Quiet, quiet," then the sleigh came to a halt. The yetis made final preparations as the sleigh sat there waiting for them.

Jack still in awe, managed to say, "Okay, one ride, but that's it."

"Shotgun!" Mary quickly claimed as both siblings jumped in the sleigh.

North, smiling from the two children warming up slightly, climbed inside soon afterward. "Everyone loves the sleigh," he said as Sandy floated in.

Seeing Mary at the reins, North chuckled then gestured for her to move to one of the back seat. The little winter spirit gave a small pout then sighed as she got out of the seat to sit next to The Sandman. Jack handed Mary her skates from off the staff's crook, she was eager to have one of her belongings back.

Once North took grasp of the reins with them wrapped around his hands, he turned to see Bunnymund just standing there, somewhat unnerved by the sleigh. "Bunny, what are you waiting for?"

Bunny looked up at North, a bit concerned. "I think my tunnels might be faster, mate," he explained. He tapped the side of the sleigh twice with his back paw then added, "And um, and safer."

North laughed at Bunny's defense. "Ah, get in," he said as he hoisted The Easter Bunny up and into the sleigh. "Buckle up," North told everyone.

Desperately, Bunnymund searched his seat but quickly found out the seatbelts were a lie. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, where are the bloody seatbelts?!" he cried, never having been more nervous in his life.

"That was just expression!" North laughed. He turned to one of his yetis then asked, "Are we ready?"

The yeti threw his hands in the air with a fit, shaking his head no despite being aware of what will happen.

"Good!" he shouted. "Let's go! Clear!" And with a "Hyah!" he cracked the reins.

With the sleigh taking off, the yetis and the elves scattered out of its path. Everyone, with the exception of North, lurched back into their seats. Bunny clutched the edge of his seat, clawing the wood and utterly terrified. Jack looked back at him with a smirk and laughed.

"Out of the way!" North warned as the sled went down the ice covered tracks. All the winter spirits were enjoying the ride.

North cracked the reins again, making the reindeer go even faster. The sleigh began to plummet down the ice cavern. Despite the terrifying drop, Sandy had a calm smile while the Frost Siblings laughed their heads off from Bunny's screaming.

"Slow down!" Bunny yelled. "Slow down!"

As they continued through Mary shouted, "Jack, look!"

Jack turned and saw a tower within the cavern, it wasn't a tower though, the yetis were building a stairwell.

North pulled a lever on the sleigh, putting it into overdrive. He looked at everyone as it made a corkscrew. "I hope you like the loopty loops!" he shouted with excitement.

A nauseated Bunnymund replied with, "I hope you like carrots."

Sandy threw his hands into the air with a huge smile on his face.

"Here we go!" North announced, cracking the reins as the opening quickly appeared.

Once outside the ground shifted from solid ice to wooden planks, Jack leaned over the sleigh's side and saw the reindeer hooves pounded away the collected snow on top. As the sleigh reached the end of the ramp, it shot them up into the bright blue sky.

Jack and Mary cheered from a rush they had never felt before.

With North's hands in the reins, he leaned into the wind as the reindeer climb into the sky. "Klasno!" North cheered.

Laughing, Jack jumped to the back of the sleigh to see the North Pole fade into the distance. "Whoa!" he said, completely enthralled.

Sandy lowered his arms and tapped Mary's shoulder then pointed at her skates, curious on she had them with her.

"Oh," she said once she understood what he was asking, "I use them to, well," she wasn't completely sure how to explain it now that she thought about it. "I'll show you actually," she added. "Just give me a moment," she told him then went to put them on.

Sandy nodded his head then went to twiddling his fingers and shut his eyes, enjoying the wind in his face.

Bunnymund peaked over the side of the sleigh then quickly leaned back into his seat for dear life.

"Hey, Bunny," Jack called. Bunny and Mary turned to see Jack standing on the back edge of the sleigh then quickly crouched down. "Check out this view- Ahhh!" his sentence ended with that as the wind quickly caught hold of him and swept him off the sleigh.

The quick disappearance of the winter spirit left Mary slightly wide-eyed and Bunny in gasps of horror. Bunny forced himself to look over the side, only to see Jack lounging on one of the sleigh's skid.

"Aww… You do care," Jack said, kind of pleased with his reaction.

Bunny put up a furious face and told him, "Ah, rack off you bloody show pony!" then went back into his seat with a scowl. He glanced at Mary and saw her trying to hide her laughter by covering her mouth but her strange shaking made it seem like she would burst. "These kids are gonna get to me before Pitch does," he muttered to himself.

Jack made his way back into the sleigh then sat in the seat behind Sandy and Mary.

"Hold on everyone," North told them, "I know a shortcut."

"Oh strewth," Bunny said as he shut his eyes in worry, "I knew we should have taken the tunnels."

Sandy on the other hand, lightly clapped in glee.

North pulled a snow globe out of his pocket, did a light toss into the air, held it up to his face, then whispered, "I say, Tooth Palace."

The image of the Tooth Palace appeared inside to snow globe. While time was still of the essence, North threw the globe into the air and a giant portal appeared before them.

The projection of Tooth Palace flickering before entering with Bunnymund's screaming.


	8. Attack at Tooth Palace

The sleigh quickly slowed down once entering the outskirts of the Tooth Palace. The palace was not what the Frost Sibling had expected it to look like. It wasn't a castle that you would see in fairy tales like Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty with huge entrances and tall spires, it was a mountain that surpassed the clouds as trees surrounded the outer edges.

In the warm pastel sky black streaks were chasing flying emeralds at rapid speeds. A confused North stared out into the distance as Jack squinted to get a better view. The black streaks rapidly approached the Guardians.

"What?" North thought aloud.

"Is something wrong?" Mary gulped.

Mayhem quickly took over the peaceful mindset as hundreds of Nightmares chased thousands of Tooth Fairies. The scene was like a meteor storm.

North yanked the reins, causing the sleigh to veer and dodge oncoming Nightmares. "What are they?!" he yelled.

A few almost managed to hit the hefty guardian. Bunny looked over the side and saw even more Nightmares rushing towards them. One even managed to get in but with the bad combination of uncontrolled speed and lack of coordination Sandy shield himself from the ghastly steed with an umbrella of dreamsand. Quickly Mary ducked as one almost charged at her head. Sandy stared at the excess black sand in confusion, he looked back at Bunnymund who wasn't sure on what it was.

Jack stared at the onslaught, noticing that the Nightmares were swallowing the fleeting fairies whole then flying off to the unknown distance.

"They're taking the tooth fairies!" Jack yelled at the Guardians. He looked up and saw a lone fairy with the midnight stallion at its tiny heels. In the horse's ribcage were several tooth fairies darting in a mixture of fear and anger.

Jack leaped into the air and rescued the tiny tooth fairy before the Nightmare could devour her. He glanced back at the creature before landing back in the sleigh. He opened his hand to see the tiny tooth fairy curled and shaking in fear.

"Hey little Baby Tooth," Jack quickly called her, "you okay?"

As newly named tooth fairy nodded yes, North steered the sleigh through the dark storm near the Tooth Palace's entrance.

Past the entrance and through stalactites, the Guardians enter a vast chamber supported by seven pearl pink pillars with golden borders. Each one having multiple levels and branches connecting to one another along with millions of tiny diamond-shaped wooden deposit boxes from floor to ceiling.

"Jack," Mary murmured as she looked back at her brother. "I'm scared."

"It's gonna be okay," he reassured her. Baby Tooth stuck her head out of his hands then flew to Mary and squeaked, presumably, words of encouragement.

The former bandit looked up and noticed a Nightmare ready to attack. "Mary," North shouted. The winter spirit was at his side as thin strands of ice followed. "You wanted to drive the sleigh," he recalled. "Here," he said as he handed her the reins, "take over!"

"North, think this through," Bunny shouted as he had one of his paws clutched to the sleigh.

Too late. Mary's surprise and uncertainty passed quickly as she grabbed the reins then smiled as she snapped them. "Hyah!" she shouted in happiness.

North jumped to the front of his sleigh then readied his sword and sliced a Nightmare in half. The guardian cheered as tiny tooth fairies flew out and hid for cover. Tooth boxes spilled out from the dark remains and landed in the sleigh. The very last remnants of the Nightmare now just black sand.

Bunnymund picked up one of the tooth boxes and quickly informed, "They're stealing the teeth!"

Sandy looked at Bunnymund then glanced at his arms and saw the remains of the black sand try to reform. He rubbed the sand between his fingers and it soon drifted away.

The two exchange a look of both confusion and concern.

"Jack!" North called forward. The boy quickly stood in response as Baby Tooth hid in his pouch pocket. "You get those-" he wasn't sure what to call them yet "-creatures, make sure to save the tooth fairies," he ordered.

Jack was hesitant for a moment. He couldn't trust anyone of them but that changed as he heard the word saved. He rushed out and ready to fight any Nightmares he could find.

"Mary," North shouted. "Take us up!"

She tugged at the reins as hard as she could and the sleigh flew to the higher levels of the pillar. The reindeer crashed onto the tiles of the platform and came to a stop near the base of the pillar. The Guardians stepping out a moment after, the reindeers could only do so much in combat. Especially in a place that had so many pillars in the way, open space played a better battle field.

"Are there any more?" Bunny asked as he recollected himself from the ride.

Nightmares charged at them from the distance, advancing by the second.

North had his swords ready to slice, Bunnymund with his boomerangs, Sandy with his whips, and Mary with her… skates?

The golden guardians glanced at her in worry.

Mary gulped down her fear then turned to Sandy. "I said I was gonna show you," she answered to his unspoken question. "Guess there's no time like the present." And with that she rushed to the Nightmares, Sandy looked in surprise as ice followed after. She skated to the dark stallions then froze their hooves and ankles by ducking between and under them. Quickly she skated back to the Guardians as a Nightmare tore its hooves off one by one and rapidly regenerating.

"Your move," Mary muttered at the Guardians in a strangely upbeat tone, trying to make this as close to a game as possible.

On cue Bunnymund threw his boomerangs at them and the Nightmares soon turned into dust. North cut the freed Nightmares in half while Sandy whips kept the remaining Nightmare at a distance.

"Nice move," Mary complimented.

"Mary, watch out!" Jack warned from out of nowhere.

The sudden warning left her confused, she turned in all directions to find out what she was supposed to avoid. "What?"

Jack ripped her off the ground right before a Nightmare trampled her from behind. "That's what," he told her, the Nightmare quickly melted into the nearby shadows then vanished.

"What about the tooth fairies?" Mary asked as she clutched onto her brother out of the fear from falling.

A green bolt flew past the two at a rapid speed. "Pitch, you have got thirty seconds to return the rest of my fairies!" Toothiana threatened as she rushed past the Guardians and to the center of her palace.

"Or what?" a gentle yet cold voice responded as it echoed throughout the chambers. A tall man soon emerged from the shadows of one of the pillars. His jet black hair was slicked back with spikes at the end, his cloak appearing as though it were part of the shadows itself. "You'll stick a quarter under my pillow?"

"Wings up, ladies, and take no prisoners!" Toothiana ordered as she rushed to the Nightmare King with several of her tiny tooth fairies right behind her.

Pitch just smiled as she went in for the kill. A huge Nightmare darted out of hiding, causing Tooth to fall back and her subordinates fly back into a safer distance. Baby Tooth hid into the hood of Jack's jacket.

In a soothing tone, Pitch calmed his steed then drew a thin wisp of black sand from its mane. The sand twirled in his palm as he showed it to the Sandman. "Look familiar Sandman?" the Boogeyman taunted. "Took me a while to perfect this little trick; turning dreams into Nightmares." Sandy created a small ball of dreamsand in his palm, he couldn't believe that dreams had been corrupted. "They make a good show too," he added. "Wouldn't you agree, North?"

Jack and Mary stared at the Guardians in shock, the look in their eyes were filled with pure rage. Not even Bunnymund's disdain for them was near the scale of this amount of hatred.

"The fact it cause you to bring the big four," he faded into the shadows then appeared at another pillar, "I must say, I'm a little star-struck."

"Why are you doing this?" North asked.

Pitch stepped out of the shadow even more, showing his skin to be a dull gray. "Maybe I want something that you have," he explained as he pointed at the Guardians. "To be believed in."

The siblings were taken aback by that. Mary's jaw went dropped then she glanced at Jack who knew that they knew what he meant.

Pitch moved along the shadows and walls of the chambers then emerged from behind a column. "Maybe I'm tired of hiding under beds!" he told them.

"Maybe that's where you belong," Bunnymund snarled.

"Ah, go suck an egg, rabbit!" Pitch scoffed from the underside of the platform then disappeared.

He glared at the group as he appeared behind a honeycomb like fencing and it came to his attention that there were not four, but six immortals in his presence. A boy and girl with snow white hair wearing a blue hoodie and blue sweater respectively. He had seen them before, during the cold winter nights where they were the only voices to be heard. He encountered with them once before but neither party would nor could really say that such an event occurred. But all he needed was their names.

"Hang on, is that… the Frost children?" he laughed. "Since when were you two so chummy?"

The hairs on the back of Mary's neck stood from hearing his cackle. "We- we're not," Mary stuttered. She glanced at Jack with wide eyes, wanting to leave now. This wasn't fun anymore.

"Don't be so nervous little one, it only riles them up." Pitch told her as his Nightmare reappeared beside him. "They smell fear, you know."

Mary stepped closer to Jack, who in turn was ready to strike as he tightened his grip around the staff. She wasn't scared of the Nightmare though, its king was the one she feared more.

Jack turned and saw Pitch leisurely leaning through one of holes in the columns, a dull expression in his golden eyes. "Though from your history they'll probably ignore you, but you should be used to that by now," then walked away from the two.

Out of nowhere Bunny used one of his tunnels and attacked Pitch from behind. His only mistake was that he shouted, "You shadow sneaking ratbag!" and the element of surprise left just as quickly as Pitch. The Boogeyman appeared on a distant pillar, looking down at the Easter Bunny with a satisfied smirk. "No one's been afraid of you since the Dark Ages!" Bunny taunted.

A flicker of rage was in Pitch's eyes but he kept his anger in check then smiled again.

"Oh, the Dark Ages," his tone under the bliss of nostalgia. He could remember children screaming under his shadow as he loomed over small villages to vast countries. "Everyone frightened. Miserable. Such happy times for me. Oh, the power I wielded!"

His delight turned into disdain as he continued on, "But then the Man in the Moon chose you to replace my fear with your wonder and light!" He could still remember his encounters with each one. Oh, his anger was beginning to get the better of him. "Lifting their hearts and giving them hope!"

On a faithful night, a child ran through him. A little girl frolicking with her friends in their mocking laughter. No second glance, not even a shiver. He couldn't forget that face; it almost haunted him that he saw it decades later. Just the same it was on that night. "Meanwhile, everyone wrote me off as just a bad dream! 'Oh, there's nothing to be afraid of! There's no such thing as the Boogeyman!'"

He leaned forward, showing nothing but contempt for the bunch. "Well that's all about to change," he told them in a content tone.

The outlandish noise of cracking stones echoed throughout the palace. Bits of the pillars began to crumble as the colors soon rotted and chipped away.

Tooth looked at her home in horror.

"Oh look, it's happening now," Pitch announced. He was a bit dissatisfied with the incoming results; it was to go much faster and seemed to stop every now and again.

"What is?" A worried Jack asked Tooth.

Toothiana was in such a shock from what she was seeing that she couldn't answer.

"Children are waking up and realizing the Tooth Fairy never came. Lifting pillows and finding their baby teeth still there," Pitch explained. "I mean such a little thing, but to a child…"

"What's going on?" Jack asked.

The initial shock began to fade and she answered in a quiet voice, "They, they don't believe in me anymore," and slowly her wings set her down to the ground.

"Didn't they tell you?" Pitch added. "It's great being a Guardian - but there's a catch. If enough kids stop believing, everything your friends protect - wonder, hopes and dreams - it all goes away. And little by little, so do they."

Jack and Mary looked at each other in horror from realizing the true magnitude of Pitch Black's plan.

"No Christmas, or Easter, or little fairies that come in the night," Pitch taunted. "There will be nothing. But fear and darkness and me! It's your turn not to be believed in!"

Bunny threw his boomerangs at Pitch, quickly evaded them as the Guardians charged over to him. Pitch jumped onto the back of his steed and down the depths of the palace. The Guardians dived after him, quickly followed by Jack and Mary.

Pitch looked back and saw Bunnymund grab a set of egg bombs, who then quickly launched them at the Nightmare King. The explosion on pastel colors exploded second before Pitch could reach the ground.

The Guardians landed by a small lagoon, weapons ready for any attack imaginable. But nothing happened.

"He's gone," North told them.


End file.
